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YUBA COUNTY 

—CALIFORNIA 

ITS RESOURCES 
AND ADVANTAGES 

BY W^INFIELD J. DAVIS. COUNTY STATISTICIAN 




SCENE ON THE FEATHER RIVER 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 

Of Yuba County and Issued by Their Authority 



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YUBA COUNTY 



CALIFORNIA 



Its Resources and Advantages 



BY WINFIELD J. DAVIS, County Statistician 



PREPARED UNDER DIRECTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF 

YUBA COUNTY AND ISSUED BY THEIR AUTHORITY— A. G. 

WHEATON (Chairman), FRED ROBERTS, PHIL. J. 

DIVVER, DAVID MORRISON, W. J. MELLON 



MARYGVILLE 

THE APPEAL <a^^^E> COMPANY 
19 8 



"^GS 



YsY^ 



PRELIMINARY NOTE. 

This publication is issued under t/ie direction 
of, and by t/ie aut/iority of the Board of Supervisors 
of Yuba County, California, and presents a con- 
servative picture f conditions as they exist in the 
County, and incidentally of the Sacramento Valley. 
Every statement made is dependable. 

A. a. IVH EATON, 
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. 



.Vi/ 



.ft era. ^f\\ 

I 



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Yuba County 

CALIFORNIA 



YUBA COUNTY is among the largest 
in the Sacramento Valley. It has an 
area of 625 square miles. It was organ- 
ized by the first Legislature. The great 
and well known valley, of which the 
county is approximately the center, 
comprehends about four thousand square 
miles of exceptionally fertile land. 
Through the entire length of the valley 
flows the Sacramento river, the longest 
water course in the State. Along its 
traverse it is fed by other rivers and by 
numerous creeks. It is navigable from 
Suisun Bay to Red Bluff, and is trav- 
ersed by several lines of steamboats that 
carry an immense tonnage, to and from 
the sea-board. 

Population of Yuba County, census of 
1900, 8G20. In the seven and more years 
that have elapsed there has been a con- 
siderable increase of population, and, 
conservatively, the estimate of the num- 
ber of inhabitants of the county can be 
placed at 9000, with a corresponding in- 
crease in the City of Marysville and the 
towns. 

School Statistics. 

Following are the school statistics of 
the City of Marysville and of the County 
of Yuba for the year ending June 30, 
1908: 

Number of census children between 
five and seventeen yiears of age — City, 
813; County, 1061; total, 1874. 

Total number of children of all ages — 
City, 1027; County, 1403; total, 2430. 

Number of teachers, including High 
School, 54. 

Number of pupils enrolled in Grammar 
and Primary departments, 1188. 

Average daily attendance in Primary 



grades, 834. 

Number of volumes in School Libra- 
ries, 14,369. 

Number of school houses, 38. 

Number of school districts, 37. 
FINANCES 

Amount paid for teachers' salaries, 
$29,951.80. 

Contingent expenses, $5484.02. 

Total expenditures for the year, $35,- 
811.47. 

Valuation of scholl property, $59,450. 

Topography and Soil. 

Yuba County is about half valley and 
half mountainous, with intervening foot- 
hills. 

It is bounded on the north by Honcut 
creek, on the south by Bear river, on the 
west by the Feather river, and on the 
east by the Sierra Nevada range of 
mountains. It adjoins the Counties of- 
Sutter, Placer, Nevada, Sierra, Butte and 
Plumas. 

The Feather river traverses most of 
the western boundary tortuously for 
about twenty-five miles across the rich 
bottom lands. It is the second largest 
river in the Sacramento Valley, and is 
navigable as far up as Marysville. 

Bear river, as well as the Feather, 
rises in the upper Sierras. It passes 
along the southern boundary of the 
county and empties into the Feather. 

As well the Yuba river and its tribu- 
taries has its sources in the upper Sier- 
ras, passes through th-e county about 
midway and discharges into the Feather 
at the City of Marysville. 

Besides these there are several creeks 
of importance. 

Geological indications prove that in re- 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



s 



mote ages the entire .Sacramento Valley 
and a section of the foothills to the 
altitude of several hundred feet were 
portions of the b'ed of a vast inland sea 
of lake, and that into this lake the wash- 
ings of the surrounding mountains were 
poured to form the present soils, which 
are made up of all the fertile mineral 
and vegetable •elements in almost inex- 
haustable quantities. Many analyzes 
have been made on these soils from the 
alluvial valleys, the upper lands and the 
foothills; these analyzes have demon- 
strated that the soils of the Sacramento 
Valley are unexcelled for fertility. 

Along the borders of the rivers and 
creeks is a belt of sediment land, partly 
a clayey, sandy loam, of great depth and 
unexcelled richness, having a width of 
a mile or more. This deposit has been 
formed by the overflowing of streams 
for countless ages, and has produced a 
soil as fertile as that of the Valley of the 
Nile. 

Thence to the east is an immense acre- 
age of "red lands," as they are denomi- 
nated. Much of these lands are now held 
in large tracts, and are used for grain 
raising and pasturage, but of late years 
there has been a tendency on the part of 
some of the owners to subdivide their 
holdings into small tracts. 

On account of the very reasonable 
price at which these lands can be ac- 
quired splendid opportunities are pre- 
sented to the home seeker. The United 
States soil experts have made tests of 
this soil and with few exceptions have 
found that with proper attention it is 
adapted to the raising of peaches, al- 
monds and various varieties of grapes, 
and with the aid of water tomatoes, veg- 
etables and berries can be made a spe- 
cialty. The experts express the opinion 
that the results of their tests develop 
that this land is peculiarly adapted to 
the production of the famous Tokay 
Grape, the elements in the soil specially 
contributing to the rich iridescent col- 
oring that makes this standard grape so 
excellent a seller in the markets in the 
East. 



The evidence of 'the fertility of this 
land is demonstrated in the yards of the 
homes in the district, where all kinds 
of trees, fruitg and vegetables are grown 
in profusion, and of the best quality. 

The grain farmer has heretofore man- 
ifested a disposition to keep on in the 
old rut, although it is manifest that a 
change is gradually coming about that 
will mean when these lands will be sub- 
divided into small tracts the thrifty far- 
mer will obtain more satisfactory results 
from the proper cultivation of twenty 
acres than the large land holder accom- 
plished with four hundred. 

Something like 200,000 acres of land 
that lies to the northeast in the county, 
extending from a point about ten miles 
east from the Feather river to almost 
half way to the summit of the Sierra 
Nevada range of mountains is the moun- 
tainous portion, famous for its mines in 
the early days and still devoted to that 
industry and to lumbering and pastur- 
age. In many of the small valleys the 
choicest of fruit is raised. 

Skirting this section lower down is the 
foothill belt, comprising about 12,000 
acres that is now devoted to farming, 
pasturage and horticulture. This land, 
as well, is mostly held in large holdings. 
Much of it is capable of producing ex- 
cellent fruit and vegetables. 

The present chief embarrassment is 
the lack of transportation facilities, but 
that will soon be overcome when the 
additional lines of electric railroads now 
projected will be constructed. There is 
an abundance of electrical energy in the 
county. 

In the valley and foothill sections wa- 
ter is abundant a short distance below 
the surface and it is available for irri- 
gation and domestic purposes by a light 
lifting power — a gasoline engine, a wind 
mill or an electric motor. 

The foothill section is covered by irri- 
gation ditches. On the north side by the 
Browns Valley Irrigation District and on 
the south side by the Excelsior Water 
and Mining Company's ditches. 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



Climate. 

A comparison of the climatic condi- 
tions of the Sacramento Valley with 
those of the great Riveria and the citrus 
and olive belt of Northern and Central 
Italy demonstrates that this valley leads 
that great winter sanitarium of the 
world. This valley shows a warmer 
winter, spring, and yearly average tem- 
perature, and about the same summer 
and autumn temperature as that of the 
noted citrus belt of Italy, where it is 
said "perpetual summer exists, skies are 
blue, and the sun ever shines." The 
averag>e number of clear days in this 
valley is 244, being more in a year than 
for any other inhabited portion of the 
Northern Hemisphere, except Yuma. 
The winters are equivalent to spring in 
Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Central Illinois, In- 
diana and Southern Colorado. 



In an able paper on the climate of Cal- 
ifornia, Judge N. P. Chipman of Red 
Bluff, Tehama County, gave in substance 
the following description of that of the 
Sacramento Valley: In judging of climate 
there is nothing so misleading and in- 
conclusive as tables of mean annual 
temperatures. The mean annual temper- 
ature here, where there is seldom a 
frost and rarely a series of hot days, is 
only about five degress higher than that 
of New York, where people perish both 
from extreme cold and heat. Mean 
temperature conveys but a slight idea 
of actual climatic conditions, and does 
not necessarily imply either high or low 
temperature in summer or winter. The 
Siskiyou Mountains connect the Coast 
Range with the Sierra Nevadas on the 
north of the valley. This lofty battle- 
ment on the north, with that on the east, 
has much to do in warding off the Arctic 




AT THE LUMBER CAMP 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



currents and deflecting them from the 
lower valleys. The Coast Range is 
higher towards the north than in the 
southern part of the state. It has a 
height west of the upp'er Sacramento 
"Valley of 4000 feet. This range is an 
important factor in affecting the climate 
of the upper interior valleys by shutting 
off the cool sea breezes of summer, as 
well as by modifying the winds of win- 
ter. These ocean breezes of summer 
that blow almost constantly are felt in 
the Sacramento Valley as they enter 
at the Golden Gate and follow up the 
valley. The chief modifier of our cli- 
mate, however, is the Japan, or great 
equatorial ocean current, which is de- 
flected northerly and easterly when it 
meets the coast of Asia. It there di- 
vides, and a portion strikes the north- 
west coast of North America, then turns 
acutely to the southeast, and flows along 
the west shore and past California and 
Mexico. This current has been found 
to start with a maximum temperature 
of 88 degrees; at Alaska it is found to 
be 50.06 degrees; eight hundred miles 
west of San Francisco, 60.38 degrees; 
and one hundred miles west, 55.05 de- 
grees. Here is a body of water of an 
average temperature of 57.89 degrees, 
and a thousand miles wide, that flows 
past our shores constantly. Observation 
shows that from this surface there flows 
an air current which rarely rises more 
than two or three degrees above the 
temperature of the water. This great 
aerial current that moves with the 
ocean stream largely determines the cli- 
mate of California. 

The valley climate is characterized by 
mild winters, warm summers (with oc- 
casional hot days), a dry atmosphere, 
and less rainfall than on the coast. The 
summers are practically rainless from 
the middle of May or the first of June 
to the middle of October or the first of 
November. The dryness of the atmos- 
phere makes outdoor labor entirely com- 
fortable, even when the thermometer 
registers 100 degrees — and that is an 
extreme rarity. The summer nights 



are uniformly cool and agreeable, and 
assure refreshing sleep. 

As a sanitarium the Sacramento Valley 
presents unusual attractions. The health- 
fulness is remarked by all comers. 
People from the East and West who 
come here to reside experience renewed 
vigor and life. It is an erroneous idea, 
sometimes entertained, that this mild 
climate begets that lassitude and indis- 
position to labor so common to tropical 
regions. That does ont follow here. We 
engage, indoors and outdoors, in all the 
occupations found in the temperate zone, 
and with all the zest and ambition that 
distinguish 'the American people elise- 
where. Another result of great economic 
value is that every day in the year is 
a comfortable working day. This can- 
not fail to impress the industrious and 
frugal who wish to utilize their capital, 
which lies largely in daily earnings. 
Considering our agricultural interests 
broadly, there is no dormant or idle sea- 
son, or a period when consumption eats 
away production, as in countries where 
severe cold paralyzes productive effort 
for half the year, or exhaustive heat re- 
stricts in a portion of the other half. In- 
telligent, diversified agriculture admits 
of no necessarily idle day, and of no 
period without the possibility of adding 
the productive value of a day's work. 
With factories or the workshops the 
same is true. Less fuel, less clothing, 
uninterrupted work for the year, and 
greater comfort result from an equable 
temperature. There is for the industri- 
ous man of moderate means no more 
inviting country on the globe than the 
Sacramento Valley. 

Irrigation. 

The water supply of Yuba County is 
unlimited and inexhaustable. The 
Feather river, the second largest in the 
Sacramento Valley, flows almost the en- 
tire length of the county and forms the 
most of the western boundary. From it 
in some of the counties to the north 
water is diverted to irrigate extensive 
tracts, but as yet no particular effort has 
been made to utilize its water for irriga- 




YUBA COUNTY FRUITS 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



9 



tion In Yuba county, though it could be 
readily done. The bank or bottom lands 
along its course through the valley or- 
dinarily require no irrigation. 

The Yuba river is the principal tribu- 
tary of the Feather. It has a water shed 
of 1357 square miles. It heads at the 
summit of the Sierra Nevada mountains 
with an elevation of 8000 feet above sea 
level, and flows in a westerly direction 
to Marysville, where it empties into the 
Feather at an elevation of 67 feet. The 
main Yuba river is made up of three 
principal tributaries, the North, Middle 
and South Yuba rivers. The principal 
one is the North Yuba that carries more 
water than the two sister streams com- 
bined. Upon the North Yuba the bed- 
rock series consists of slates and granite, 
a considerable portion of which is de- 
composed into a granular mass. Over- 
lying this bedrock are huge areas of au- 
riferous gravel. Nearer the summit an- 
desitic lava covers a large portion of the 
water shed, while on the summit mo- 
rainal deposits of gravel abound. The 
surface is covered with a heavy growth 
of timber and underbrush. These geo- 
logical formations are very porous and 
allow the rain and the melting snows to 
percolate deep into the earth's crust and 
the water is discharged during the sum- 
mer months in the form of springs that 
make the great and steady flow of the 
North Yuba, and it is in marked contrast 
with the other mountain streams of the 
State that flow where the bedrock is 
hard and where the rains and melting 
snows are completely discharged early 
in the summer season. To construct 
storage reservoirs for the conservation 
of the winter rains for an equal flow 
would be a diflBcult if not impossible 
thing to do elsewhere in the State. Upon 
the North Yuba watershed the rainfall 
is very great. Upon the summit of the 
mountains it is more than 75 inches per 
year. The watershed has the greatest 
precipitation for its area than any other 
stream in the State. Near the summit 
the snowfall is very great. At about 
6000 feet elevation there is on an aver- 



age six feet of hard compact snow each 
year. From the records of the United 
States Geological Survey the lowest 
flow in the North Yuba in 1900, when the 
rainfall had been far below the normal, 
was 282 cubic feet per second, and un- 
der ordinary conditions 350 cubic feet is 
practically the lowest water flow. Seven 
months in the year the flow is over 7000 
feet per second. 

The main Yuba river receives the wa- 
ters of its tributaries and during all 
seasons of the year carries an abundant 
supply. 

In 1893 works of an irrigation system 
were completed in the Browns Valley 
district about ten miles northeast of 
Marysville. The system consists of 
about 100 miles of flumes and canals. 
The water is taken from the North Yuba 
and is sufficient to irrigate some 40,000 
acres. The irrigation system is the 
property of the district and the water is 
distributed free to the land owners. 

In the eastern half of the county on 
the south side of the Yuba river are the 
properties of the Excelsior Water and 
Mining Company, consisting of pl&cer 
mines, a water system, ranches and or- 
chards. The water system consists of 
several mining canals heading high up 
in the Sierras and fed by streams that 
receive the snow meltings of the elevated 
peaks of the main range. The water is 
passed through lateral and distributing 
ditches. The entire system comprehends 
about 200 miles of ditches and flumes. 
This system will irrigate about 15,000 
acres of land. Besides, the company con- 
trols reservoir sites that can easily be 
filled in the wet season and will store 
sufficient water to irrigate 13,000 acres 
additional. 

Bear river carries a never failing sup- 
ply of water that can be made to irrigate 
a large area. 

In addition to the numerous rivers and 
minor streams there is underlying almost 
the entire area of the county an inex- 
haustable supply of pure and excellent 
water for domestic and irrigating pur- 
poses. Throughout the greater portion 



10 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



this subterranean supply can be easily- 
appropriated by means of a light lifting 
power. By reason of this abundant sub- 
terranean supply the farmer and fruit 
grower who wishes to irrigate his land 
may do so without being dependent on 
any canal corporation and at a small cost. 
For instance, a windmill with necessary 
pumps, which will cost about $100, will 
have a capacity to irrigate six acres of 
fruit land and can be made to answer for 
eight. A pump run by a gasoline engine 
is far more serviceable and dependable 
to irrigate small tracts, and the cost of 
operation is trifling. In the foothill and 
mountainous sections there are any num- 
ber of good flowing springs. 

Agriculture-Horticulture. 

The first venture in agriculture in the 
Sacramento Valley was by General John 
A. Sutter in 1839. He received a con- 
cession of a large tract of land from the 
Mexican government and located his 
famous fort near the junction of the 
American with the Sacramento river. 
Later he established a branch at Hock 
farm on the Feather river, in what is 
now Sutter county, and cultivated lands 
there and across the river in the present 
County of Yuba. He as well engaged in 
the raising of live stock. His first wheat 
field was on a portion of the land now 



covered by Sacramento City. He planted 
the first grape vines and fruit trees in 
what is now known as the Sacramento 
Valley, and practically demonstrated the 
unsurpassed fertility of the soil of the 
great valley. 

All of the valley lands of Yuba county 
and the foothill and mountain valleys are 
practically arable, and there has never 
been a general crop failure. The upper 
or red clay lands are devoted largely to 
the production of cereals and hay and to 
stock raising and dairying, though the 
raising of fruit and vines is also very 
profitable. The lands along the river 
bottoms will produce all kinds of veg- 
etables, grapes and fruits. Much of this 
is disposed of to the canneries and pack- 
ing houses, and a great deal is shipped 
out green in carload lots. In the valleys 
in the foothills cereals and hay are raised 
in large quantities, most of which is dis- 
posed of in the mining sections of this 
and adjoining counties. Fruit produces 
well, particularly apples, peaches and 
berries. 

Alfalfa grows luxuriantly without irri- 
gation on all of the rich bottom lands, 
producing from four to eight tons to the 
acres in the four crops that are cut an- 
nually. The average time between the 
cuttings is from 32 to 3G days, and for 
six months the fields are used for pastur- 




HARVESTING SCENE, VUB.\ COUNTY 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



11 




AFTER THE HARVEST 



age and dairying. The hay finds a ready 
market and yields good prices. 

The winter fruits of the county and 
of the Sacramento Valley are oranges, 
lemons and olives, which all ripen in 
November, December and January. Or- 
anges and lemons ripen here earlier than 
in the southern part of the State, and are 
always sold at fancy prices on that ac- 
count. Olives are very profitable, both 
for pickling and for oil. 

The spring fruits that mature and are 
marketed in April, May and June em- 
brace strawberries, raspberries, black- 
berries and ch-erries. After picking and 
marketing the early fruits the fruit 
growers have to attend to the early sum- 
mer fruits: apricots, plums, peaches and 
pears. The first peaches are ready by 
the last of May and apricots and the ear- 
lier varieties of plums ripen about the 
same time. From then until October 
there is no cessation in the picking and 
marketing of fruit. Peaches are very 
largely cultivated, but reach their great- 
est perfection on the river bottoms, 
though they thrive excellently in the 



higher altitudes. v 

Apricots ripen early, and of all coun- 
tries in the world California is the only 
one that has made a thorough success 
of that fruit, and in this valley it reaches 
its very finest development in size, flavor 
and productiveness. 

A large number of varieties of pears 
are grown, among them the Madeline, 
Bloodgood, Dearborn Seedling, Le Conte, 
Beurre Hardy, Sekel, Winter Nelis etc., 
but chief among them is the renowned 
Bartlett. The latter variety is shipped 
from the valley to every city of any size 
in the Union, and is as well known in 
New York and Chicago and other centers 
of population in the East as it is at 
home. It grows on the rich lands along 
our rivers in larger quantities and to 
greater size than anywhere else in the 
world. The demand for this pear is un- 
limited, and the California product is 
without competition in the markets of 
the world. What we know and sell as 
the Bartlett pear originated in France, 
and came to us through English sources. 
Under our favorable climatic conditions 



12 



TUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



it has outstripped the parent tree, and 
we are shipping the fruit back to the 
country of its nativity in a state of 
greater perfection. In the London mar- 
ket California Bartletts in half boxes of 
twenty-five pounds each are sold for as 
high as $3. The freight is 85 cents, so 
that the profit is handsome. From one 
orchard in Yuba county fifty carloads 
were shipped out this year. 

Plums are very profitable. They grow 
to a large size and are shipped in vast 
quantities to the Eastern and home mar- 
kets and to the canneries and packing 
houses. 

In the fall the fruit products are apples, 
pears, grapes, prunes and peaches. The 
Sacramento Valley is pre-eminently the 
home of the grape, and on the red lands 
of the plains it reaches its highest per- 
fection, particularly with irrigation. The 
table varieties include the Tokay, Mus- 
cat, Black Prince, Morocco, Emperor, 
Cornichon and the Thompson Seedless. 
Most of these varieties bring first class 
prices for shipment to the Eastern mar- 
kets. The wineries of the State handle 
large quantities. Our favorable open 
weather in the fall months makes the 
curing of grapes into raisins an industry 
that is very profitable. 

French, or petite, prunes are a leading 
fruit. They are remarkably prolific, and 
when cured excel the imported article, 
and bring a much higher price in the 
markets of the world. They do well on 
any land that is suited for plums, and are 
readily cured for market. The prunes 
raised in the valley are of superior qual- 
ity, and are everywhere so regarded. 
Large consignments are loaded for Ire- 
land, Scotland, England and Denmark. 
They are also sold all over the United 
States and Europe. The foreign trade is 
large. A very respectable portion of the 
product goes direct to France, astonish- 
ing as that might seem. Hamburg is an 
important foreign market. 

Figs grow in any part of the county, 
but on the river bottoms they reach a 
great size and are remarkably prolific. 
The common black fig requires abso- 



lutely no care; the tree is as hardy as 
the native oak. The first crop is usually 
sold green, but the second is allowed to 
fall to the ground, and when dried the 
fruit is sacked. The Smyrna, or "fig of 
commerce," has been introduced and suc- 
cessfully grown. There are also pro- 
duced the WTiite Adriatic, the principal 
commercial fig here. 

Raisins are easily cured, the climate 
being peculiarly favorable. 

Almonds have long been found to be 
a reliable and profitable crop. Like the 
fig, the trees require little or no atten- 
tion. 

The English soft-shell walnut has been 
demonstrated to be a profitable crop. 
Black walnut trees are extensively grown 
for shade and ornament. 

So far as the Sacramento Valley Is 
concerned, viticulture is in its infancy, 
notwithstanding the fact that it has the 
largest vineyards in the world. The 
largest is at Vina, in Tehama county. 
It is planted exclusively to wine grapes. 
The second largest is the Natoma, in 
Sacramento county, and covers over 1900 
acres. In every county there are ex- 
tensive vineyards. While the production 
is enormous, it must be remembered that 
the American market alone covers over 
75,000,000 people, arid that a very small 
proportion is at present supplied by the 
home product of wines. It also must be 
fully realized that the quality of our 
grapes and wines is no longer a matter 
of speculation, and that the demand for 
viticultural products of California is rap- 
idly increasing, not only at home but 
abroad. 

The production of citrus fruits in Yuba 
county is in its infancy. Oranges grow 
to perfection on all of the soils from the 
rivers to the foothills. Every county in 
the valley produces this golden fruit, and 
that which is phenomenal is that it rip- 
ens earlier, even as far to the north as 
Butte county, weeks before it does in 
Southern California, which for many 
years was supposed to be the only por- 
tion of the State where the fruit could 
be successfully produced. The first or- 
ange trees were brought into California 



YUBA COUXTY, CALIFORNIA. 



13 



from ^lexico b^^ the Mission Fathers, who 
founded the missions in Southern Cali- 
fornia, commencing in 17C9. It was not 
until about 1874 that trees were planted 
in the Sacramento Valley, at first ex- 
perimentally, but a few years later their 
success led to their propogation comni'er- 
cially. 

Canned and Dried Fruits. 

The California Fruit Canners' Associa- 
tion possesses at Marysville one of the 
largest and most modern fruit canneries 
in the State. This cannery plant covers 
the space of a city block. The cost of 
the building and equipment is in rouad 
figures $75,000. This outlay was deemed 
advisable by the association, as Marys- 
ville's situation commanded a large and 
important area of the best orchards and 
fruit lands in the State, not only receiving 
contributions from Yuba but from adjoin- 
ing counties. Tire produce manufactured 
goes to all parts of the world — English 
settlements on the Nile and South Africa, 
and India taking a goodly portion. This 
cannery is in operation from July 10th 
and runs steadily for the succeeding 
three months. During this period the 
various fruits follow i-apidly — early 
peaches, plums, pears and late peaches. 
In 1908 about 70,000 cases were packed; 
(cases containing a variable number in 
them, according to whether the cans are 
two and onehalf pound, one pound or 
gallons). The number of cans packed 
exceeded one and a half million. The ca- 
pacity is only limited by the supply of 
help procurable. The weekly payroll is 
about $.3000, and goes mostly to women 



and girls in sums ranging from $2.50 to 
$4.50 per day, and in turn is distributed 
to nearly every industry in the city — the 
butcher, baker, grocer, etc., getting each 
their quota. Cleanliness in all depart- 
ments is insisted upon. After the fruit 
is prepared for canning it is washed 
thoroughly in clear, cold water, placed in 
the cans are hermetically sealed, and 
then cooked by steam. On an average 
400 persons are employed during the 
season. 

The J. K. Armsby Company has an ex- 
tensile dried fruit packing plant in 
Marysville. The building covers an area 
of ICOxlCO feet. The varieties of fruits 
dried and packed are peaches, prunes, 
raisins, figs and apricots. The product 
is marketed all over the world. The 
pack of 1907 was approximately 5500 
tons. The value of that pack was $750,- 
000. The plant was in operation from 
August 1, 1907, to January 1, 1908. Dur- 
ing the packing season employment is 
given to 150 persons daily, mostly women 
and girls. The average weekly payroll 
is 



Stock Raising and Dairying. 

Yuba County presents great opportuni- 
ties to the livestock breeder and the dai- 
ryman. The climate is so even temper- 
ate and mild in the valley portions that 
animals remain in the open air, practic- 
ally unsheltered, the year round without 
hardship. The same is true in the foot- 
hills. During the summer and fall the 
mountain ranges furnish an abundance 
of feed and water. The soil of the coun- 
ty, because of its richness, is peculiarly 




A DAIRY SCENE, YUBA COUNTY 



14 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



adapted to the growth of forage crops, 
especially alfalfa, which is at the same 
time one of the best and cheapest of stock 
feeds. Because of the economy with 
which livestock can be maintained and 
the cheapness with which food can be 
produced, there is a large margin of 
profit in breeding and rearing farm stock. 
Animals mature early and produce heav- 
ily, and their judicious breeding has been 
profitable. There is a large creamery 
at Marysville, to which cream is shipped 
from all over the county, as well as from 
adjoining counties. A large quantity of 
the cream is shipped out of the county as 
well. The average character of the 
dairy stock is fair, and is being constant- 
ly improved by the introduction of well- 
bred animals. The average production of 
butter per cow per year is not high, but 
the conditions are favorable for a very 
large produce. The breeding of pure- 
bred pedigreed cattle is engaged in to 



some extent, but not so generally as the 
profits of the business would seem to 
render advisable. The dairy product of 
California has heretofore been quite in- 
sufficient for the supply of the home de- 
mand, and as a consequence butter and 
cheese, as well as eggs and cured meats, 
have been imported. This short supply 
has insured profitable prices. Butter 
manufactured in the creameries has been 
sold in Alaska, British Columbia, Wash- 
ington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Ari- 
zona, with some few shipments to the 
Philippines and Hawaiian Islands, China 
and Japan. 

While the farmer as a rule raises more 
or less stock, the production of beef cat- 
tle is not sufficient to supply the demand 
for meat in the valley, and most of the 
beef comes from the northern coast, prin- 
cipally Southern Oregon. What stock 
is produced finds a ready sale at good 
prices. 




HERDKR AND HIS FLOCK 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



15 



Sheep are extensively raised. Hogs 
are raised generally by the farmers, and 
are profitable. 

Poultry and Eggs. 

The poultry business has steadily in- 
creased in importance in the last few 
years, yet it has not received the atten- 
tion that it deserves, excepting in Sono- 
ma and Sacramento counti'es. In those 
counties poultry raising is made a spe- 
cialty by many and with profit. The 
same general conditions prevail in Yuba 
county. The business requires strict 
attention, and the supplementing of 
careful and intelligent aid to the favora- 
ble conditions of nature. Those who 
have made poultry raising a specialty 
say that the business must be given care- 
ful study, and at the start there must 
be sel'ected quality and not quantity. 
One who is an authority on the subject 
writes: "A number of the poultry farms 
in the valley have from six hundred to 
two thousand hens. Seven hundred and 
fifty chickens can be kept on one acre, 
and when it is considered that each hen 
will pay a clear profit of one dollar per 
annum, it can be readily seen that tlie 
business is very remunerative, and when 
combined with the other lines of diver- 
sified agriculture a prudent and indus- 
trious man has no trouble in making a 
comfortable living for himself and fam- 
ily. But with the poultry let him begin 
right and give quality the first place; 
quantity will follow. We raise an im- 
mense quantity of vegetables and con- 
siderable grain, and it is easy for the 
poultryman to get the best feed at a low 
price. The White Leghorn is the money 
maker, and in all of the large and suc- 
cessful poultry farms that variety pre- 
dominates. There is another advantage: 
as yet California does not produce one- 
half of the poultry and eggs for her con- 
sumption. For that reason the home 
production finds a ready market and at 
satisfactory prices. There is plenty of 
money in the poultry business, but to 
obtain the best results let it be under- 
stood that one must work hard and give 
careful attention. This work, however, 



is interesting and healthy. The poultry- 
man can always command cash for his 
output. He has always a ready market 
and one that is never dull. In winter 
eggs have sold as high as 60 cents per 
dozen." 

Hops. 

Within the confines of Yuba county are 
the largest hop fields in the world. They 
are on the rich alluvial bottoms along 
the Bear river near Wheatland. The 
yards comprehend about 1185 acres. 
There are but few counties im the State 
that produce hops. The culture of hops 
on this coast dates back to 1858, when 
the first roots were imported from Ver- 
mont by Daniel and Wilson Flint and 
planted in Alameda county. Hop culture 
developed slowly, because of the preju- 
dice of brewers against a hop that con- 
tained so much greater percentage of 
strength than that which they had been 
accustomed to use; but in time they 
found that it did not take as much for a 
brewing. It was early demonstrated that 
the soil and climate of Yuba county were 
unsurpassed for hop culture, and that 
it is the only place known where a crop 
of from 1000 to 2000 pounds per acre 
can be grown the first year the roots are 
planted. It is a common occurreince to 
grow 2000 or 3000 pounds on an acre, 
and in some instances 4000 pounds. The 
cost of picking is from 80 cents to $1 
per hundred pounds. During the hop 
picking season an army of people are 
employed in the yards, most of whom 
come from the large centers of popula- 
tion. This year hop picking machines 
were installed in the Horst yards, and 
while successful had not the capacity to 
handle all of the crop. California hops 
are shipped to all parts of the world, but 
are consumed mostly in the Eastern 
States and England. About GOOO bales 
are used by the local markets. 

Fish and Game. 

The natural fish of the rivers are sal- 
mon, sturgeon, mountain trout, pike, 
perch, hardheads and dace. Those plant- 
ed are striped bass, black bass, shad and 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



17 



three kinds of catfish. The only fish 
propogated are salmon trout in the head- 
quarters of the Sacramento river. All 
of the planted fish have multiplied sat- 
isfactorily. In the open season large 
numbers of salmon and other fish are 
talcen. 

In the line of game there are geese, 
ducks, quail, curlews, doves and larks. 
All but the geese are protected. The wild 
geese arrive from the north from the 15th 
of September until about the last of 
October. The varieties are the honker 
or Canada, the speckled-breasted brant, 
two of the white brant, th'e Mexican or 
black and the China. The ducks are 
mostly migratory. Of the non-migratory 
species are the mallard, spoonbill and 
wood duck. The migratory ducks that 
come from the south are the red-head 
and blue-winged teal; and from the north 
the green-winged teal, widgeon, sprig, 
canvasback, gadwell or gray duck, blue- 
bill and black jack. 

Transportation Facilities. 

Few counties in the State contai-n a 
greater mileage of railroads than does 
Yuba. For many years Marysville has 
been the trade center for a wide terri- 
tory, embracing Yuba and Sutter coun- 
ties and portions of Butte, Colusa, Ne- 
vada and Sierra. Being a freight termi- 
nal on the Southern Pacific Railroad, the 
merchants of Marysville have been able 
to compete with the merchants of other 
cities successfully and keep all trade at 
home. The wholesale merchants are able 
to and do conipete in all the northern 
counties of the State, in Oregon, Wash- 
ington and Nevada, with the wholesale 
merchants of the larger cities. Until 
December, 1906, the Southern Pacific was 
the only railroad operating through 
Marysville. This company, with its two 
lines, gave the city a better service prob- 
ably than any other city in the Sacra- 
mento Valley north of Sacramento, both 
as to the carriage of passengers and 
freight. In December, 1906, the Northern 
Electric Company, which had completed 
a.n electric road between Chico and Oro- 
ville and Marysville, began running in- 



tBrurban passenger trains. Soon after- 
ward it installed a freight service, and 
commenced the operation of a street car 
system between Marysville and Yuba 
City. Later the main road was extended 
to Sacramento, where connection is made 
with San Francisco by steamboats. The 
equipment is as fine as can be found on 
any electric line in the country. Trains 
pass over the road at frequent intervals. 
A branch line is projected between 
Marysville and Colusa, and to the north 
the road is to be run to Red Bluff. 

The California Midland, another elec- 
tric railroad, is now under construction 
from Marysville eastward to Grass Val- 
ley and Auburn, the road branching at 
Spenceville to reach the two towns. En 
route the dredge town of Hammonton in 
Yuba county will be reached by a branch 
line. 

The Western Pacific, the new trans- 
continental road, passes through Marys- 
ville and has made it one of the most 
important points, it being a terminal. 
This road comes into the State through 
a territory' not now accessible from 
Marysville by rail and which has here- 
tofore been reached by freight teams. 

This year navigation was reopened on 
the Feather river and several trips by a 
steamer and a heavily laden barge were 
made from San Francisco. There is 
reasonable assurance that the Federal 
Government will rectify the river and 
that its former navigable character will 
be restored. 



Mining. 



Since the early days of California Yuba 
county has been noted for its production 
of gold and at no time afterward has it 
failed to yield its full share of the pre- 
cious metal. The evidences of the primi- 
tive placer mining operations are to be 
seen in the foothills. In the upper foot- 
hills and the mountains quartz mining 
has been successfully prosecuted since 
the early fifties, and there are a number 
of extensive and well producing mines 
now in operation. Indeed, within the 
past year rich strikes have been made 
that have had a tendency to give an 



18 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



a.ldcd impetus to the important indus- 
try. 

But the most important productive pro- 
cess for the extraction of gold is by 
dredging, the most recent of mining 
methods employed in California. That it 
has attained a very important place is 
evidenced by the fact that more than 
one-fourth of the gold mined in the State 
is now taken out by the dredger process. 
The first successful dredge in this State 
began operations ten years ago, and the 
present production of millions of dollars 
annually represents a growth that com- 
pares favorably with any period of min- 
ing development of which there is any 
record, for not only has the dredger re- 
covered large values, but the bulk of 
these have come from ground already 
once mined. The gold dredge does not 
work in the streams alone, but in the 
land. Indeed, the practice now is to 
land-lock the machine, and the mining 
is wholly outside of the channel so that 
the stream will not be impaired. The 
dredge is built in a dry pit dug for that 



purpose, and when the hull is completed 
water is run into the pit by a ditch or 
flume. The dredge in operation floats 
on water brought to it in this way, and 
its function is to dig up the soil and 
gravel and wash out the gold. It moves 
forward and the ground is mined and 
deposits the tailings behind. The Yuba 
County dredge field is especially inter- 
esting because of its magnitude, and be- 
cause of the conditions which require 
the employment of exceptionally heavy 
machinery and necessitate dredging to a 
greater depth. For instance, the lands 
of the Yuba Consolidated Goldfield Com- 
pany comprises 3G00 acres, constituting 
perhaps the greatest gold mine in the 
world; certainly the greatest gold dredg- 
ing property. Twelve machines, all of 
them giants, the greatest of their kind, 
are at work on these lands, and some 
idea of the magnitude of the mine may be 
had from the fact that these machines, 
working steadily twenty-four hours every 
day, would require fifty years to exhaust 
the land at the present rate of progress. 




ONE OK THE FI.KF.T OI- C.OI.I) I) K I I)C,i;kS AT HAMMONIDN, VLIiA CUlNTV, 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



19 



The Marysville Dredge Company, with 
lands adjoining, has two machines at 
work, and more than fifty years would 
be required for these to complete the 
mining of this area. Both of these min- 
ing dredger centers are operated by elec- 
tric power supplied from Colgate on the 
Yuba river. 

In Marysville are maintained the Yuba 
Construction Works that does all of the 
structural work for the dredgers in the 
State. The factory was started in op- 
eration in April. 1907. The plant is 
valued at $300,000, and the site covers 
three blocks of land. It is the only es- 
tablishment in the State that is devoted 
exclusively to work for dredge machines. 
When in full operation there are em- 
ployed 125 men and the value of the 
output annually is $2,000,000. Aside from 
those employed at the construction 
works, some 400 men are constantly 
working at the dredgers. 

Electric Power — Manufac- 
tories. 

The Colgate Power House, one of the 
largest of the ten plants for the genera- 
tion of electricity owned by the Califor- 
nia Gas and Electric Company, otherwise 
known as the Martin-de Sabla Company, 
was constructed after the Yuba power 
house had proven a success, and has 
been in operation about eight years. It 
is located on the Yuba river about thir- 
ty-three miles from Marysville and trans- 
mits the electric current to Oakland and 
other bay cities, besides a dozen or 
more intervening points, and being the 
longest transmission line in the world. 
The current is used for power and light. 
The electric roads in this part of the 
State are operated by the currsnt from 
Colgate and de Sabla, the latter power 
house being located in Butte county. 
The distributing system is so arranged 
that all the power houses may parallel — 
that is, help each other out — thus prevent- 
ing interruption of service should one of 
the stations suffer an accident. The ca- 
pacity of the generating machinery at 
Colgate is about 20,000 horse power. Du- 



plicate pole lines extend to points on the 
bay. Marysville was the first city in 
California which was supplied with pow- 
er from Colgate, and can claim the honor 
of being the birthplace of the great 
electric system. The Colgate Power 
House is substantially constructed of 
concrete, rock and iron. The water sup- 
ply is taken from the river about eight 
miles above, and is brought down in 
ditches and flumes. The generators are 
operated under a head of seven hundred 
feet. The Colgate dam across the Yuba 
river eight miles above the power house 
is an engineering feat of magnitude. 
Many difficulties were encountered in its 
construction owing to its almost inac- 
cessible location, but roads have been 
built and improvements made until now 
the trip to this point is one of pleasure 
and interest. 

The Great Western Power Company 
that will, when completed, eclipse all 
power lines in the world, has placed its 
steel towers across the county and the 
transmission wires are being strung. 
This company derives its power from 
the Feather river in Butte county and 
will deliver its energy in Yuba county 
as well as to localities between the initial 
point and the bay cities. 

The North Yuba river, which has pro- 
vided power for the first successful long 
distance transmission plant, is to be 
again harnessed, and this time by the 
Marysville and Nevada Power and Water 
Company. The North Yuba is an ideal 
stream for the production of electric 
energy. It has its source in the higher 
Sierras and flows through a narrow, pic- 
turesque canyon, fringed on each side 
by abrupt and pine-covered hills. It is 
expected that there will be generated 
40.000 horse power and there is a ready 
market for the power, for the demand 
far exceeds the supply. At a point about 
half a mile below Goodyear Bar, in Sierra 
county, on the north side of the river, 
a tunnel is being driven and into its 
mouth the water will be diverted. A 
rock-built dam will span the narrow 
gorge just below the mouth of the tunnel 
and raise the water level so that the 



20 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



tunnel will be filled. This tunnel will be 
540 feet in length. After passing through 
the tunnel the water will be carried in 
a canal constructed entirely in the nat- 
ural ground a distance of twenty-nine 
miles to a point close to Bullard's Bar, 
where there will be a drop of 9.15 feet. 
It is estimated that the power generated 
will be entirely dependable. 

Marysville and Yuba county will share 
in the installation of these great power 
plants which, combined with the unsur- 
passed transportation facilities of a rich 
surrounding territory, can have but a 
single meaning: that maufactories will 
spring up that will prove profitable in- 
viestments and that will add much to our 
population. And speaking of manufac- 
tories, Marysville has at no time been 
in the rear so far as concerns other cities 
in the Sacramento Valley. 

So far back as 18G7 a woolen mills was 
established, and it was not long before 
its output commanded attention in the 
Eastern markets. For over thirty years 
it continued in active operation, when 



it was destroyed by fire in 1901. It was 
rebuilt on a much larger scale, and 
equipped with the latest improved ma- 
chinery. It is operated by electricity 
and is one of the most modern plants 
on the Pacific Coast. The product of the 
mills consists of high grade blankets, 
flannels and underwear, making a spe- 
cialty of a'"-woolen blankets, both white 
and in r jIots. The productions of the 
mills Tie unsurpassed in quality, fine 
finis', and durability, and are preferred 
by consumers for their uniform excel- 
lence and general reliability. The mills 
occupy over a block of ground in the 
business center of the City of Marysville. 
They employ on an average 125 persons 
and the value of the annual output is 
$250,000. 

The Marysville Wool Scouring plant 
was established in 190C at a cost for site, 
building and machinery of $45,000. It is 
one of the largest institutions of its 
character on the coast. There are em- 
ployed twenty persons, and the annual 
output represents $300,000. 







FOURTH STREET, MARYSVILLE 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



21 



An old established manufacturing insti- 
tution in Marysville is the Sperry Flour 
Company's mills, commonly designated 
as the "Buckeye" mills. The building 
is a handsome, four-story brick with a 
basement and is most advantageously 
situated for receipt and distribution. 
There is a storage capacity of 2000 tons 
of flour and 10,000 tons of grain. The 
equipments are all of the latest and 
most improved machinery. The mills 
have a daily capacity of 6000 barrels of 
flour and forty tons of rolled barley. They 
employ a large force of men and pay out 
large sums of money for wages and op- 
erating expenses. In addition to supply- 
ing the local trade, flour is exported to 
foreign countries, including China. 

The Marysville Creamery is an import- 
ant enterprise as being one of conveni- 
ence to the farmers and to the entire 
community. The money paid to the 
farmers each month for cream forms an 
important item. The plant is complete 
in all its appointments, including cold 
storage, and is fitted up with the most 
modern machinery and appliances. The 
establishment enjoys a large and steadily 
increasing trade, both wholesale and 
retail. 

Though recently established, the 
Marysville Sand, Cement Block and Brick 
Company has met with phenomenal suc- 
cess. The discovery was made that the 
sand taken from the bed of the Yuba 
river is of exceptional purity. It is re- 
moved from the bottom of the channel 
by a dredge bucket and finds a ready 
market. A plant has been established 



for the manufacture of bricks and cement 
blocks for structural material and the de- 
mand far exceeds the output. 

There are two meat packing houses in 
the City of Marysville that send out a 
pack larger than that of any other city 
in the Sacramento Valley, with the pos- 
sible exception of Sacramento. 

The Empire Foundry is an industry of 
importance. It is one of the most com- 
plete establishments of its character in 
this section of the State. The plant is a 
large one and the appliances are of the 
very best and most approved pattern 
and construction. All kinds of iron and 
brass work are done, and connected with 
the institution is a large repair shop for 
automobiles. 

A large Saddlery Company imports, 
manufactures and deals in harness, sad- 
dles, collars, stockmen's outfits, carri- 
ages, buggies, etc., and carries in stock 
a full line of light and heavy harness, 
saddles, harness hardware, turf goods, 
and in fact everything in the line of horse 
furnishings. They manufacture a special 
stock saddle that have met with great 
favor in the Western States where they 
have been introduced, and are the only 
manufacturers of collars between Sac- 
ramento and Portland. The company 
employs a large force of skilled workmen, 
and the product is sent all over the State 
and adjoining States as well. 

The two tin and galvanized iron shops 
employ twenty-five men and the annual 
output averages in value $160,000. There 
are two planing mills that do an exten- 
sive business. 




THE CITY OF 



MARYSVILLE 



THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE, the 
county seat of Yuba County is one 
of the oldest in the Sacramento Valley. 
It was established in the early part of 
1849, soon after the influx of the gold 
seekers to the northern mines. It at 
once became a distributing point for sup- 
plies to the northern portion of the State, 
and the point from which stage lines ra- 
diated to the upper mining sections. And 
it has ever since maintained its commer- 
cial supremacy. The geographical loca- 
tion of the city from a commercial point 
of view is such that the wholesale houses 
and manufacturing establishments are 
enabled to compete with Sacramento and 
San Francisco for the trade of Northern 
California and South'ern Oregon, with a 
decided advantage in favor of the home 
institutions. The leading merchants of 
Marysville buy their goods direct from 
the factories in the East in carload lots 



and, as this is a railroad terminal point, 
they can sell all lines of goods and mer- 
chandise with a saving to the purchaser 
of the price of freight between Marysville 
and San Francisco and still figure the 
same per cent of profit that San Fran- 
cisco merchants do. One firm does a 
buisness of a million dollars a year. The 
general expenses necessary to conduct 
a successful trade are lower in this city 
than in San Francisco, rents being far 
less. Four large dry goods stores keep 
full stocks in their lines. 

The city occupies a comparatively 
level tract of ground at the junction of 
the Yuba and Feather rivers, fifty-two 
miles from Sacramento and one hundred 
and forty-two miles from San Francisco. 
It is a handsome, solid, thriving city, 
environed by gardens, gay everywhere 
with flowers, and its business arteries 
pulsating with an extensive trade. Its 



}f .* m .. ' * < V^ - 




'•«(» 



'■i^^' 



' L ipl fi 



" " '"<{{ - 




WW w^' 






24 



TUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



growth has been steady. Its substantial 
progress is evidenced in fine, solid build- 
ings, modern pavements, sewerage, sani- 
tary conditions, railways, manufacturing 
industries and educational facilities. It 
has a secure hold on the commerce of 
the region which includes the rich coun- 
ties of Yuba, Sutter, Butte and portions 
of Colusa, Nevada, Sierra and Placer, 
while certain branches of the trade reach 
as far north as Southern Oregon and the 
California counties intervening. 



da, and the tropical climbers of the West 
Indies. The cultivated roses, however, 
are the great glory of Marysville's flower 
gardens. They find a congenial soil and 
flourish with but the slightest care. 

Marysville takes special pride, and de- 
servedly so, in her school system. Be- 
sides the High School (which is accredit- 
ed to the State University), and the 
Grammar and Primary schools, additional 
educational advantages are presented by 
the College of Notre Dame, a business 




PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, MARYSVILLK 

Marysville enjoys equal climatic con- 
ditions throughout all seasons of the 
year. Nearly all kinds of flowers thrive 
out of doors, and the yards and gardens 
have them in profusion. There are or- 
ange and lemon trees surrounding nearly 
every residence, and in the winter they 
are laden with the golden fruit, giving 
the place a semi-tropical appearance. 
Around the many attractive homes there 
is an air of good taste and comfort. 
There are to be seen the lillies and ane- 
mone of Florida, the jasemines of Flori- 



coUege and a private academy. Two 
daily newspapers are issued and three 
semi-weeklies. A free public library that 
cost the donor, .John Q. Packard, $75,000, 
and that contains about 8000 volumes, is 
located in the heart of the city. A well 
equipped electric street car line runs 
through the principal streets and con- 
nects Marysville with Yuba City in Sut- 
ter county. Nearly every religious de- 
nomination is represented by churches 
in the city. There are three banking 
houses of high standing; three large and 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



25 



a number of small hotels furnish ample 
accommodation to visitors. An elegant 
theater has recently been completed at 
a cost of $50,000. It has a seating ca- 
pacity of twelve hundred. The city is 
supplied with water by three artesian 
wells. An analysis of the water has 
demonstrated that it is of unexcelled 
purity. There is maintained an efficient 
fire department that ig equipped with the 
most approved and latest apparatus. 



Marysville has ten pretty public 
squares, in two of which band concerts 
are given during the summer months. 
Besides there was recently bequeathed 
to the city the Knight Park that contains 
eighty acres and that had formerly been 
used as a race track and for the holding 
of fairs. 

The city has an effective Chamber of 
Commerce that is made up of the lead- 
ing citizens. 




ELLIS LAKE, MARYSVILLE 



Wheatland. 



Twelve miles south of Marysville is 
the thriving town of Wheatland. It is 
the largest hop producing center in the 
world. During the picking season hun- 
dreds of people are employed and the 
disbursement for wages is something 
like $100,000 per season. From a mere 
railroad station in 1866, Wheatland's 
population rapidly increased until the 
size of the place in 1874 demanded the 
incorporation of the town. From that 



year there has been steady progress and 
public utilities have been established. 
Much stress can justly be placed on the 
educational facilities. A commodious 
new school house, designed for both 
high and grammar grades, stands upon a 
large block, one end of which has been 
set aside for a public park. The town 
owns its water supply and derives a con- 
siderable revenue from that source. 
There is a weekly newspaper and a bank. 



26 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIF'ORNIA. 



as well as hotels. One of the latest addi- 
tions to the town is an opera house de- 
signed to accommodate the best troupes 
that visit the valley. There are several 
churches. 

The lands about Wheatland are es- 
pecially adapted to the needs of those of 
moderate means who wish to build homes 
and make a comfortable living on a 
small farm. Such a man can figure that 
the land will yield a fair crop of olives 
and citrus fruits, enough at least for his 
private use. The Bear river bottom land 
already has a reputation for the produc- 
tion of the ever demanded Bartlett pears 
and alfalfa. The latter product insures 
at all times of the year the milk so im- 
portant to the successful operation of 
the creamery industry in this section. 
Two cheese factories in the vicinity use 
what the creameries will not purchase. 

There has of late been interest taken 
in the "red lands" adjoining the town and 
extending for a distance out. In other 
localities the value of these lands has 



long been known, but here they have 
been given over almost entirely to grain 
raising aiiu to the pasturage of stock. 
That great possibilities await the begin- 
ning of grape culture on this character 
of land has been known for years, but 
new interest has been kindled oy the re- 
cent vi-^it of W. W. Mackie, soil expert of 
the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, who made thorough tests of the 
soil and emphasized its adaptability to 
Tokay grapes. It has been demonstrated 
that the Tokay grapes will thrive here, 
though but little attention was given to 
their production heretofore. But now it 
is different. This eminent soil expert 
sent out by the government, has made 
the unqualified statement that grapes, 
especially the Tokays, should be set out 
on the "red lands" in this vicinity, where 
they will thrive v.'ithout irrigation. The 
statement means much. It means that 
a beginning is to be made and that now 
is the time for the home seeker to take 
advantage and be in on th'e ground floor. 




TACKING IIOIS AT WllKATI.AND, YlUA COUNTY 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



2T 



Other Towns. 



Browns Valley, about twelve miles 
northeast of Marysville, is in the 
center of the district of that name 
that comprises 45,000 acres of excellent 
land, accessible by good roads. Water 
is conductied over the tract by a system 
of irrigation works, consisting of one 
hundred miles of fluming, canals, pipes 
and a head dam across the North Yuba 
river. The system is the property of the 
district. All kinds of deciduous fruits 
and berries are grown and marketed with 
profit, while the citrus fruits grow to 
perfection and are of excellent quality. 
Alfalfa is a profitable crop and also ce- 
reals, grapes and nuts. Every induce- 
ment is offered to the settler who desires 
a small farm at low figures. The location 
of the lands is such that vegetation 
starts as soon as the first winter rains 
come and the extreme warmth and mild- 
ness of the climate produces the earliest 
crops. The town of Browns Valley, 
which is located on the stage road from 
Marysville, contains several hundred 
population, with the usual schools, 
churches, hotels and business houses. 
To the north of the town a short distance 
quartz mining is carried on to a consid- 
erable extent. Among the important 
mines are the Smithurst, Flag, B'essie, 
Sweet Vengeance, Old Hawkeye, Jeffer- 
son, Burris & Hibbert, Donnebroge, Too 
Handy, Pennsylvania, and the Northern 
Light. The Jefferson, Donnebroge and 
Pennsylvania have a record production of 
over one million and a half dollars dur- 
ing their active years. These mines are 
equipped with a twenty-stamp mill, the 
power being •electricity. 

To the east of Browns Valley and 
eighteen miles from Marysville is the 
historic mining camp of Smartsville. 
This district in recent years has also 
become noted for its fine fruits, bota 
citrus and deciduous, and more especially 
for the production of oranges. On the 
south side of the Yuba in this locality 
are large placer mines from which mill- 
ions in gold have been extracted and 



where millions still remain to be taken 
out. The new Blue Point mining claims 
are located on the Yuba river near 
Smartsville and consist of 130 acres of 
gravel, 2500 feet of tunnel, 28 miles of 
ditch and a capacity of 2000 miners' 
inches of water. Within the past 35 
years they have produced $3,000,000. 
Among the proved quartz claims in the 
Smartsville district are the Marc An- 
tony, the Peerless, the Marysville Tun- 
nel and Quartz, the Timbuctoo and 
Smartsville Quartz and the Bullard. The 
Excelsior Water and Mining Company 
owns extensive water rights and have 
large ditches from which the mines in 
this section are supplied. They also sell 
water for irrigation purposes. The 
Smartsville district is one of the richest 
sections in gold in the State. When the 
California Midland electric railway will 
be completed, as is now contemplated, 
close to her boundaries a new era full 
of greater realization will be in store for 
Smartsville. 

In the section to the south of Smarts- 
ville, known as the Cabbage Patch pre- 
cinct, and extending to Bear river, there 
are rich mineral deposits, including gold 
and copper. The copper mines are sure 
to be developed with the advent of the 
California Midland railroad. There is 
now in successful operation a paint mine 
in this locality. 

About thirty miles northeast of Marys- 
ville is the Indiana Ranch district, an 
extensive and well known mining belt. 
Mining operations have been conducted 
on a large scale since the early fifties, 
first by the primitive methods of placer 
mining and later in the working of the 
quartz veins and pockets. At present 
there are several quartz locations in 
course of development. The Good Title 
and Templar mines are prominently con- 
nected with the history of Indiana Ranch. 

Another group of mines deserving of 
mention are the Seborg, and Davis, and 
Spanish mines, situated in the Hanson- 
ville mining district. Thirty-five years 



^ 



YUBA COUNT Y, CALIFORNIA. 




ELECTRIC POWER HOUSH;, COLOATK 



ago the Spanish mine was the support 
of a village of considerable size and im- 
portance. 

Still to the north are the timber lands 
that surround the settlements of Chal- 
lenge and Woodville, and which in the 
past fed the sawmills located there with 
logs enough to turn out 8,000,000 feet of 
lumber a year. Near here is located the 
Miller mine. 

Camptonville and Strawberry Valley 
have come to be favorite summer re- 
sorts. Near the first named place the 
famed Ramm ranch is located, where the 
finest grapes in the Unit^ed States are 
grown. Exhibits of this fruit made lo- 
cally, at the State fairs and at interna- 
tional expositions have always been 
awarded the first prize. Apples, peaches 
and pears as well as other deciduous 
and citrus fruits are produced to perfec- 
tion. Camptonville is the distributing 
point for supplies to a large area of 
country in the northeast section of Yuba 
county, and portions of Nevada, Sierra 
and Plumas counties. The freight is 



transported from Marysville by teams 
and in large wagons, and the territory 
surrounding is supplied by wagon trains. 
At Strawberry Valley, in the extreme 
northern point of the county, there is 
game and fishing. In early days this sec- 
tion was noted for its rich gold mines, 
and there is now a tendency to restore 
the old-time activity. 

The newest town in the county is 
Hammonton. the scene of the operations 
of the Yuba Consolidated Goldfields 
Company, situated twelve miles east of 
Marysville on the Yuba river. Here has 
risen since the advent of the gold dredg- 
ers one of the most attractive of habita- 
tions. Many families whose heads are 
employed on the big gold boats have es- 
tablished their homes here. A few miles 
below is the dredger town of Marigold. 

Brownsville lies three miles south- 
west of Challenge, and is the center of 
a mining ditstrict of great importance in 
the past and in which considerable pros- 
pecting is being done at present. About 
three-quarters of a mile from Browns- 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNLA. 



29 



ville is the scene of the newly discovered 
Solano Wonder, a mine of rich promise,. 
There are many small farms in the vicin- 
ity that are cultivated in fruit and veg- 
etables and to some extent to grain and 
hay. 

The Old Oregon House, about twenty- 
five miles from Marysville on the Downie- 
ville stage road, lies in the middle of a 
fertile valley that is known as the Ore- 
gon House Valley. The land is princi- 
pally devoted to farming and stoclv rais- 
ing. Fruit and vegetables are also 
grown. 

Dobbins' Ranch, four miles from the 



Oregon House, is similarly situated with 
the latter place, but it is in close prox- 
imity to the mining district. It is about 
four miles from Colgate Power House 
and is the base of supplies for the Power 
House. 

Bullard's Bar is situated on the North 
Yuba river, about forty-one miles from 
Marysville. In early days it was a large 
settlement of miners, the river bars in 
that vicinity being very rich. River min- 
ing is prosecuted to some extent yet. 

At all of the places named public 
schools are maintained and in many of 
them cliurch services are held. 



Land Subdivision. 



Under the rule of Mexico grants of 
large tracts of the most fertile lands 
in California were made improvi- 
dently, and after the acquisition of the 
territory by the United States and the 
country settled up they proved to be a 
bane and one that has not even yet been 
fully eradicated. These large holdings 
were mostly devoted to the production 
of cereals and the raising of stock. But 
with the passing of time it was found 
that the use of the land was more profit- 
able for diversified farming and gradually 
the old grants have been broken up until 
few remain now intact. 

Yuba county was no exception to that 
general rule, and while there are some 
abnormally large holdings in individual 
hands, there is now a growing tendency 
towards subdivision. 

The most extensive tract that is in 
process of subdivision is one of 22,000 
acres that lies immediately south of 
Marysville, extends along the Feather 



river a distance of fifteen miles to the 
junction of Bear river, and bounded on 
the south by the latter stream. Most of 
the land is bottom and the remainder is 
red clay soil. Two large dredgers are 
at work throwing up a levee that will 
withstand anj' possible inundation by the 
waters of the rivers. When the recla- 
mation work will be completed the land 
will be cut up into ten, twenty and forty 
acre tracts, and disposed of to home- 
seekers. 

The Hallwood tract of 2150 acres, lying 
about five miles northeast of Marysville, 
is also on the market for sale in small 
tracts. 

The Ostrom tract, seven miles south 
of Marysville ,and comprising 1043 acres, 
has been cut up into twenty-acre tracts 
and is being sold off. 

Other subdivisions are in contempla- 
tion. 

The small tracts can be purchased at a 
reasonable figure and on favorable terms. 




30 



YUBA COUNTY, CAI.IFORXIA. 



Summary. 



Yuba County presents unusual attrac- 
tions to the intelligent, industrious 
and prudent homeseeker who wishes 
to engage in diversified farming 
on a small holding. Here he will find 
an equable climate, a fertile soil, inde- 
pendent irrigation facilities, a ready mar- 
ket, exceptional educational and social 



advantages, commercial and industrial 
opportunities, combined with the oppor- 
tunity to purchase desirable land at a 
reasonable price. It is the fact that 
lands adapted for the establishment of a 
permanent livelihood under the most 
favorable conditions may be secured on 
terms both reasonable and convenient. 



Land Values in the Sacramento Valley. 



A communication was addressed to 
the president of a prominent bank 
in the valley asking for his conservative 
judgment of land values in the Sacra- 
mento Valley. His reply was submitted 
to the heads of other banks and the offi- 
cers of those fiscal institutions have 
given it their unqualified endorsement. 
The reply letters is as follows: 

"In compliance with your request I 
give herewith my views regarding valu- 
ation of lands in the Sacramento Valley, 
and its productions. I have been ap- 
praiser for the bank for the past twenty- 
six years, hence am familiar with the 
values of lands. 

"At the present time number one grain 
land can be purchased for from $20 to 
$50 per acre second class grain land 
from about $10 to $20; alfalfa, fruit and 
hop lands are valued at from $150 to 
$300 per acre. Grape lands on uplands, 
which will produce good grapes without 
irrigation, are selling at from $15 to $40 
per acre. Grape lands that have irriga- 
tion facilities sell at from $50 to $100. 

"As a general thing, our valley is not 
half under cultivation. Some of our best 
lands are used for wheat exclusively, 
while they would produce almost any- 
thing else you might wish to raise on 
them, and at a better profit than wheat 
yields. The great drawback to the valley 
has been the large holdings. Whenever 



these large bodies of land are divided up 
as they should be, the Sacramento Valley 
will treble its population in a short time. 
I have traveled over a considerable por- 
tion of the earth's surface, and I do not 
know of any place where you can produce 
so much to sustain the human family as 
in the Sacramento Valley. You can 
produce almost anything in the horticul- 
tural and agricultural lines that you may 
plant; and when the land is properly 
farmed and cultivated, it will yield a 
large interest on the investment. 

"You will bear in mind that as I have 
been appraismg lands for loans, I have 
necessarily always been very conserva- 
tive in my estimates of values, and the 
above figures are upon the same basis 

"WMll say furthermore, that the Sac- 
ramento Valley has better facilities for 
irrigating than any other place I know 
of, both from streams and from bored 
wells with pumping plants. There is an 
abundant supply of water all the way 
through the Sacramento Valley. In some 
places it is near the surface, and in oth- 
ers you have to dig some distance; but 
the supply of water is there. The moun- 
tains on both sides of the valley are nat- 
ural reservoirs, and always will be. 

"Good grazing land can be bought at 
from $3 to $10 an acre. This, of course, 
is in the foothills on both sides of the 
valley." 



YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



31 



Special Opportunities in Yuba County. 



From an agricultural standpoint: 
There are larg'e bodies of land imme- 
diately north and south of Marysville, 
with abundant river water supply, and 
susceptible of and adapted to vast im- 
provement by means of irrigation. 

From a manufacturing standpoint: 
The main power lines of the Bay Coun- 
ties and of the Great Western Power 
Company first cross at Marysville. 

From a commercial standpoint: The 



main lines of the Southern Pacific and of 
the Western Pacific Compani'es first 
cross at Marysville. Besides these steam 
railroads, interurban electric railroads 
pass through the city and county. 

There is also a rich surrounding agri- 
cultural community, with a natural and 
logical expectation of higher develop- 
ment of the agriculaural resources and 
of its natural location as a business 
center. 




CORTEZ SQUAKF., M.^RYSVILLK 



WAK 10 iyo9 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0017 r 



60 




